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100 Best Christian Academic Books…Where are the Women Authors?

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iStock_000016904107Small The JP team and Nick Quient tag team on this post about a recent 100 Best List.

One of the things we appreciate about the blogging platform and the people we interact with online is that they have a knack for calling out blind spots in conversations. Remember the uproar about the lack of women speakers at conferences that resulted in 101 Christian Women Speakers? And the discussion that led to 101 Culturally Diverse Christian Voices? We think this ability to call attention to marginalization is one of the strengths of social media.

Case in point:

Yesterday, a respected Christian leader (who happens to be a strong advocate for women in the church) tweeted a link to The Best 100 Academic Christian Books¹. The list includes some excellent books, but there are no women authors*, with the exception of Darlene Hyatt, mentioned as a co-author.

Of course, there are valid reasons a list like this would have more men than women. For one thing, as Holmes and Farly note in Women, Writing, Theology: Transforming a Tradition of Exclusion: “Both education and ordination have been necessary prerequisites for claiming the authority to write theology-and, with few exceptions, women have been largely excluded from both of these until recently. ..Because the written tradition of Christian theology has been constituted by the exclusion of women…writing theology is problematic for women.”

But getting back to Twitter…

Pushback about the gender exclusivity of the list began showing up in our feed. After all, a list of 100 best Christian anything made up of only men is always going to raise a red flag, especially after our recent post 4 Contributions of Women Scholars. Women in academia have been writing about theology for years now, and there is a reservoir of scholarship to be tapped. I (Gail) tweeted my disappointment, and to his credit, the author graciously asked what books should be on the list and also started a dialogue with us privately². We suggested Esther: The NIV Application Commentary by Karen Jobes. (Should have added Daughters of the Church by Ruth Tucker and Walter Liefeld).

We passed the question on via social media and received some great suggestions. Marg Mowczko reminded us of the women scholars who have worked as translators on modern English Bibles: http://newlife.id.au/female-bible-translators/. And Nick Quient put together this list of books worthy of consideration that we’re delighted to share with you today. So without further ado, here’s Nick!

—————————————————————-

So I learned about Frank Viola’s 100 best academic book list, and noticed the comments on Twitter.

I know Frank’s heart so I don’t attribute this to ill-will or anything like that. I dig the dude. He’s a cool cat. That said, I wanted to contribute a little to the conversation. This isn’t a response to Frank or anyone in particular. Just giving a few mentors their (over) due. 🙂

In no specific order, the following books written by female theologians have had a profound impact on me. The list could go on, but these are the few that instantly popped to mind.

Jouette Bassler Navigating Paul 

For clocking in at barely 100 pages, this book is primed with data that makes a seminarian like myself breath heavily. On the more critical side, but still really helpful at laying out the key issues in the life of Paul. My sole criticism was the lack of detail regarding the duetero-Pauline corpus. Since it wasn’t written by Paul, it wasn’t discussed; this is a negative mark only because of the influence Paul surely had upon the theological additions written in his name. I get it. I just wanted more.

Nancey Murphy Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies? 

This one was a doozy. I confess I was already very much in line with her theological anthropology before reading this, but it helped significantly. Her clarity and ability to articular very dense concepts was a great help to me. While I would’ve loved more material in her theological and biblical section, her work cannot be underestimated within Christian and secular spheres. 


Marianne Meye Thompson The Promise of the Father: Jesus and God in the New Testament

This is a book particularly relevant to New Testament Christology. While slim, the book crams a lot of information into a short space. Dr. Thompson’s grasp of New Testament theology is well-known and her contribution, particularly in light of the current evangelical ‘subordinationist’ trend in many circles, is lucid, straightforward and enlightening. Her section on Second Temple Judaism was, in my opinion, the highlight of the book. If books needed trailers, that chapter would constitute most of the explosions and music.

 Linda Belleville Women Leaders and the Church: 3 Crucial Questions

This ranks high on my list of books affirming an egalitarian interpretation of Scripture. In reading Dr. Belleville, I’m reminded of a swim coach I had in high school. Dogged, fiercely intelligent and, above all, demanded that I really jump in the deep end. Dr. Belleville’s work elucidates that memory. She covers the world outside the New Testament, critiques current scholarship and advocates strongly for the full inclusion of women in the church. A pointed, yet gracious, matter of fact presentation of the egalitarianism found in Scripture.

Lynn Cohick Women in the World of the Earliest Christians 

This was an eye-opener for me. While Dr. Cohick does address some of the New Testament texts regarding the status of women in the ancient world (1 Tim. 2:15 is one; John 4 is another), her world is far broader than the New Testament. She delves into manuscripts, ancient letters, inscriptions and the literature of the time. At once broad, yet detail-oriented, her work here was a helpful flick in the ear. I had no idea regarding much of this data and Dr. Cohick brought it all to light for me. And, in case you prefer a pinch of snark in your theological books, every once in a while Dr. Cohick drops a sneaky jab at some ancient sexist patriarch. The cheekiness of it reminds one that they aren’t reading a dry textbook, but are engaged in a book of profound significance. 

Again, this was not meant as a ‘response’ to Frank. I actually agree with the majority of the books he placed on the list. And I want to thank him, and others, for inspiring this mini-post. 

Notes:

1. “Ordination: A Biblical-historical View” by Marjorie Warkentin has been added to the list, and a separate list of The Best 100 Christian Books Ever Written includes a number of women authors.

2. Frank Viola adds “At the time I wrote the post, I hadn’t read any evangelical female commentary writers and asked for recommendations, but no one gave any.” His advocacy for women in the church is expressed in this post “God’s View of a Woman“.

 

YOUR TURN: We’d love to hear suggestions for a list of the best books written by women academics in the subject area of theology or biblical studies. Who would you include?

Nick Quient
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Comments

  1. I’ll suggest a few Catholic women. It’s fascinating to read Catholic female theologians! Cristina Traina, (Catholic feminist) *Feminist Ethics and Natural Law*, Elizabeth Dryer, *Making Sense of God: A Women’s Perspective*, Elizabeth Dreyer, Julie Hanlon Rubio, *A Christian Theology of Marriage and Family*, Anne Patrick, *Women, Conscience, and the Creative Process.* And then Protestant, Susan Ackerman, *When Heroes Love*,

    • Dan, I have also found Catholic women theologians are way out front in the area of academic scholarship. There is a depth and breadth that I long to see in evangelical publishing! We’ll get there 🙂

  2. Reference works should also be mentioned, like the Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters, ed. Marion Ann Taylor and the Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, ed. Rosemary Keller and Rosemary Ruether. Then there’s the amazing amount of work being done to recover the history of women in church leadership in North America (women ministers, preachers, evangelists, missionaries, deaconesses, Bible teachers) by historians like Catherine Brekus, Dana Robert, Ruth Ann Tucker, Edith Blumhoger and many others. And I have written two academic books on women evangelists — Turn the Pulpit Loose: Two Centuries of American Women Evangelists (Palgrave Macmillan 2004) and Building the Old Time Religion: Women Evangelists in the Progressive Era (NYU Press, 2014).

    • Thank you Priscilla! Those are great categories for a list of significant work by women authors that can stand on its own merits. I look forward to reading your own books!

  3. I read his list and I noticed that he did list Marjorie Warkentin. I also noticed that this isn’t so much a list of the best books, as it is his favorite authors. There must be 15 volumes of N.T Wright on there. I think a good list would winnow an author down to his/her best one or two works.

    • Brian, you are right that Marjorie Warkentin’s book on ordination shows up on the list now, but that was only after the Twitter feedback – she was not on the list originally, as was noted in the footnotes. GREAT POINT about favorite authors. But I guess that the prerogative one has when they create a list. Maybe a better title for the list would be MY FAVORITE CHRISTIAN ACADEMIC BOOKS. 🙂

  4. Dorothy L. Sayers is a favourite, new to the scene, maybe slightly more personal, but biblically literate, honest and powerful ‘Jesus Feminist’ by Sarah Bessey, also blogs on Facebook and other places.

    • Ruth, those are good suggestions for general reading, but they don’t fit the criteria of an academic book – something that would be used as a primary textbook in the university or seminary setting. I do think both of these authors have books that would be great as supplemental reading for the academic setting though! We can’t say Dorothy Sayers is new to the scene, though. While “Are Women Human” was re-published in book form in 2005, the original essay was penned decades before (not sure exactly when, but she passed away in 1957). And yes, Jesus Feminist is powerful and one of my new all-time favorites. I would definitely put it on a Best 100 Christian Books by Women 🙂

      • I think I punctuated that badly. I meant Sarah Bessey was newer on the scene. I love Dorothy Sayers particularly because she is not modern, time wise at least, though her thoughts are timeless.

        • Haha! I see what you meant now. Yes – those two authors really complement each other. Thanks, Ruth.

    • Thanks for letting us know about Jeannine Brown. I just ordered a used copy of her book on biblical hermeneutics and pre-ordered the commentary on Matthew. That Teach the Text series from Baker Academic looks awesome. What’s not so awesome is that Amazon Prime makes buying books so easy…

  8. These works are commentaries, and aren’t necessarily all evangelical. That said, they are generally really helpful.

    Pheme Perkins, 1 Corinthians.
    Linda Belleville, 2 Corinthians.
    Aida Spencer, 1 Timothy (see also 2 Timothy and Titus, forthcoming).
    Marianne Meye Thompson, 1-3 John.
    Jouette Bassler, 1-2 Timothy & Titus.
    Lynn Cohick, Ephesians.

    –Nick

      • I think we do need to go beyond that label of evangelical periodically – are there some books you would recommend by women authors outside that circle? I would say anything by Joan Chittister (Catholic).

    • Thanks for adding those, Nick. I’m amazed at how many women are writing commentaries these days! Let’s do a list of great commentaries by women 🙂 Another reader suggested Jeannine Brown (on Matthew, which I just pre-ordered), and I would add Karen Jobes (Esther and 1 Peter) and Mary Evans (1 & 2 Samuel). I think the best commentary on the book of Ruth I’ve ever seen is The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth by two Jewish authors – Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Tikva Frymer-Kensky. If that JPS (Jewish Publication Society) series wasn’t so darn expensive, I’d probably buy the whole lot!

  9. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, 1983.

  10. She Who Is by Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ (Distinguished Professor of Theology, Fordham University) has shaped my faith tremendously

    • This book was suggested a number of times on FB, Twitter, and in person just today. We probably need to develop a list of the 100 Best Books by Christian Feminists. To be honest, I have not read a lot of feminist theology – there is such a wide spectrum of beliefs in that field and I fall on the more conservative end as a Christian egalitarian. But with this many votes, it’s obviously something I need to read.

      • Gail, I’m curious about your self-identification as a complementarian and involvement with The Junia Project. Have you expounded on this before?

        • WHOA! I’m not sure where you got the impression that I identify as a complementarian – nothing could be farther from the truth! I said that I identify as a Christian egalitarian.

          I was commenting that I haven’t read a lot of feminist theology – my reading has been focused on the abundance of egalitarian literature (like the resources available from the CBE bookstore). I can expound on that more if needed. Hope that clears that up!

          • Oh, i I TOTALLY misread that, more than once! Sorry for the confusion – thanks for clearing up my brain 🙂

          • Whew! Glad to hear it – I would hate for that rumor to be spread around…haha! Blessings on your day.

  11. I’d suggest anyone interested in Christian Feminism needs to read the book that broke ground for biblical feminists, All We Are Meant To Be, written by Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Nancy Hardesty. Their courage in the 1979s to assert that feminism and faith could be combined made possible everything that followed, and they were saying things then that Rachel Held Evans et al. Is saying now.

  12. Kathryn Tanner, Jesus, Humanity and the Trinity (Her Economy of Grace is very good as well)
    Serene Jones, Feminist Theory and Christian Theology (one of the best books anywhere and any category)
    Sarah Coakley, Powers and Submissions: Spirituality, Philosophy and Gender
    Susan Ross, Extravagant Affections (excellent liturgical theology from a Catholic woman)
    Marjorie Thompson, Soul Feast (this is a true modern classic in spiritual theology)
    Kenda Creasy Dean, Almost Christian (this is a practical theology, but is so good it must be mentioned)
    Elaine Heath, The Mystic Way of Evangelism
    Christine Pohl, Making Room
    Nancey Murphy, Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism (this is another that should be on everyone’s list)

    • Wow, many of these are new to me and I’m excited to explore them! Several others have mentioned Kathryn Tanner, Serene Jones, Sarah Coakley and Nancy Murphy. We are well on our way to having a Best 100 Books by Christian Women. Love it! Thanks for taking the time to send so many great suggestions! And thanks, also, for your own advocacy for women in the church.

      JP readers, you need to check out Jeremiah’s excellent series of posts on women in ministry: http://jeremiahgibbs.com/women-in-ministry/.

      • Thanks Gail…and thanks for linking to my stuff.

        For some reason I read this as “best theology” books. I guess that is my theologian bias just exploding to the surface.

        Since it is ACADEMIC books, I have a few more to recommend:

        I mentioned Kenda Creasy Dean’s Almost Christian before, but her first book is used in lots of youth min classes over the last decade and is more widely acclaimed than the other. The Godbearing Life, co-authored with Ron Foster.

        Kara Powell and Chap Clark’s Sticky Faith is also near the top of the academic youth min list.
        Diana Garland’s Family Ministry is the standard text in baptist circles (now in 3rd or 4th edition).

        (Though both of the above are co-authored, in both cases the woman is the indisputable primary author)

        Colleen Carroll’s The New Faithful: Why Young Adults are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy is without parallel

        Gayle Carlton Felton has two books that are intended for pastors (she was Duke faculty), but are the official statements on sacraments for the United Methodist Church so are used in seminaries and universities everywhere:
        This Holy Mystery
        By Water and the Spirit

        I didn’t like the book, but Marva Dawn’s Reaching Out WIthout Dumbing Down is a well respected liturgical theology.

        Dorothy C Bass is one of the most respected in spiritual/academic formation, but she mostly edits volumes that she contributes just a couple pieces. Practicing Our Faith is the most popular of those if you want to included edited volumes. She is an important author to include even if she rarely writes full manuscripts.

        Catherine Pickstock’s After Writing is an important book as well.

        I don’t know these particular books, but there are a couple women in some commentary series that I like:
        http://www.brazostheologicalcommentary.com/volumes/1-samuel/
        http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664232027/1–2-peter-and-jude.aspx

        I wish I could recommend one of my teachers, Nancy Bedford. But all of her full length books are written in Spanish or German. She was Jurgen Moltmann’s last doctoral student and is EXCELLENT. For serious feminist scholars you shouldn’t miss her.

  13. I nominate the new “Feasting on the Gospels” series from Westminster John Knox Press. The two lead editors are women and include a variety of contributors for the text, including women.

    • Mark, this series looks amazing! The title alone – Feasting on the Gospels – gives such a great picture of the bountiful table we have at our fingertips in the Word. I looked it up and see that there are quite a few women authors, as you mentioned. I’m going to need another bookshelf…

    • That is a great title! I know Christian colleges often have majors in worship ministry. This would be a great text 🙂

    • Thanks for these suggestions, Marilyn. Are there any particular titles you think belong on a BEST 100 list?

  16. I would also recommend the writing by Helen Rhee Westmont faculty –
    Loving the Poor, Saving the Rich: Wealth, Poverty, and Early Christian Formation

    • What a fantastic title! Thanks, Denny. Adding it to my list of summer reading 🙂

  17. Our Mother St. Paul, Beverly Roberts Gaventa
    From Adam to Christ, Morna Hooker
    Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative, Adele Berlin
    Anything at all by Ellen F. Davis (Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament; Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament; etc.)

    • Ah, more new authors for me to read! This is definitely going to end up being an expensive post 🙂 The reviews for Ellen Davis’ books are outstanding on Amazon. Several have suggested British theologican Morna Hooker, but I haven’t been sure where to start. Our Mother St. Paul – what a title. From the description I see that it has to do with Paul’s use of feminine imagery for his leadership, which Marg wrote about in this great post:

  18. Thanks for this great list… it’s really helpful – I love Daughters of the Church and really appreciate all the rest of them. We need lists like this to give us awareness of what God is doing with and through women.

    • Yep – Daughters of the Church fills in a lot of gaps in church history. A must read. Thanks, Bev!

  19. Thanks Gail. I appreciate you adding the “notes” at the end of this post to give the context and let folks see the work I’ve done for the cause.

    In addition to Marjorie’s book which was added to the academic list recently (since it’s now available, even though it’s still out of print), I’ve received 3 great referrals for academic books by evangelical women yesterday that all look awesome. And now you’ve listed some more. So I intend to get these and read them over the next few months.

    While we’re on the subject, you may be interested to know that Baker just published 60 PEOPLE WHO SHAPED THE CHURCH and there is only ONE woman on the list of 60 “shapers.”

    Walter Elwell’s HANDBOOK OF EVANGELICAL THEOLOGIANS has ZERO women listed in the book. And “50 People Every Christian Should Know” published by Baker lists 3 women out of 50.

    So there’s still a long way to go, but I’m glad we’re moving forward.

    Looking forward to the interview with you on my blog.

    Your brother in the uncommon journey we share,

    fv

    Psalm 115:1

    • Thanks for weighing in, Frank, and for being willing to expand your library 🙂 Interesting about Baker books – maybe we need to start another list! Not surprising about Elwell’s book, since it was published in 1993. 50 People Every Christian Should Know is a more current publication, but Wiersbe is really looking back to the early 1900s, and 60 People Who Shaped the Church goes back even further. While it seems unbelievable to us now, it wasn’t until the 1960s that most colleges opened their doors to women undergraduate students at all, much less seminaries! I do think all three of these authors would have benefited from a look through Tucker and Liefeld’s Daughters of the Church before they came up with their lists. It will be awhile before women catch up in the publishing arena, but it will happen!

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